France’s Jerem Motorcycles delivers a hand-built Yamaha TR1 café racer that defies the donor bike’s awkward origins.
Some motorcycles lend themselves to customization, and then there’s the Yamaha TR1. Released in the early 80s as part of Yamaha’s broader Virago family, the TR1 is a mishmash of styles—a cruiser-derived UJM with a V-twin motor and touring aspirations. It takes vision to look at it and see a sharp café racer lurking within.
This 1982 Yamaha XV1000 TR1 was still in stock form when Jérémie Duchampt got his hands on it, but the man behind France’s Jerem Motorcycles had other ideas. Within the first year of owning the TR1, he found a gap in his calendar, dragged it onto his workbench, and tore it down to its nuts and bolts.
Jérémie has a knack for building bikes that look taut and aggressive, so that’s the vibe he went for with the TR1. But before he got to the fun stuff, he rebuilt the Yamaha’s aging engine and treated it to a full set of fresh bearings. The carbs were rebuilt, too, with pod filters replacing the airbox.
With a reliable drivetrain in hand, Jérémie turned his attention to the chassis. The work started with an unforgiving subframe chop and a full de-tab, before what was left of the original frame was sent off for sandblasting and powder coating. Next, Jérémie fabricated a stubby bolt-on subframe to support a solo seat, drastically abbreviating the TR1’s silhouette.
The front-end was upgraded with a set of rebuilt Suzuki GSX-R forks with gold-anodized tubes, along with a pair of Brembo brake calipers. At the opposite end of the bike, Jérémie modified the single-sided swingarm from a Ducati Monster S2R to fit—its trellis design adding a touch of elegance to the TR1. The rear shock was lifted from an MV Agusta and installed with a CNC-machined aluminum spacer.
The Italian wheel specialist Kineo built a set of their signature tubeless laced wheels for the Yamaha, featuring gold accents. They’re shod with Dunlop Qualifier Core rubber, with a fat 180-section tire at the rear.
At one point, the Benelli Mojave fuel tank was the de facto option for custom Viragos—but Jérémie went in a different direction, using the tank from a modern Royal Enfield 650 instead. Draped in gorgeous black, gold, and silver paint, it suits the TR1 perfectly. Jérémie’s go-to seat supplier, Yaya Brush & Upholstery, handled the stylish saddle.
Further forward, a machined top yoke from USV Racing is flanked by clip-on bars, fitted with simplified switchgear, aluminum grips, and tidy bar-end mirrors. The brake master cylinder is a Nissin part, while the braided brake lines are from Exact. A Daytona speedo sits front and center, mounted in a bespoke bracket that’s neatly integrated with the yoke.
There’s LED lighting all-round, while a Motogadget mo.unit controller and Solise Lithium-ion battery hide underneath the fuel tank. Other details include rear-set pegs on modified brackets, an aftermarket fuel gauge, and a smattering of gold touches.
Then there’s the bike’s serpentine exhaust. Built in-house with assistance from Jérémie’s friend, Thibault, the stainless steel headers terminate in a pair of IXIL IXRace mufflers, poking out from behind the seat. Once the bike was reassembled, it went to Thorn Bikes to be tuned on their dyno to ensure it would run right.
All in all, Jérémie spent 300 hours turning his stock Yamaha TR1 into the rowdy café racer you see here. We’d call that time well spent.
Jerem Motorcycles | Instagram | Images by Jonathan Silène
